


Time Waits for No One (So Do You Wanna Waste Some)

by binni



Series: if you were here and i were there [1]
Category: Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist
Genre: M/M, editing this shouldn't have taken as long as it did, picking a title shouldn't be this hard, prof/student, professor dantalion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2014-04-10
Packaged: 2018-01-18 20:32:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1441882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/binni/pseuds/binni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It doesn't sit right with Dantalion that his new student should be so captivating. Nor does it sit right with William that his professor is so alluring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time Waits for No One (So Do You Wanna Waste Some)

**Author's Note:**

> An AU whipped up by me and [Sarah](http://dantalionhuber.tumblr.com/), and so gratefully beta'd by Freya and [Jen](http://darknessbehind.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Title comes from 'Illuminated' by Hurts.
> 
> I should also mention: William is 17 in the beginning of the story, but there's nothing that happens until he's turned 18.
> 
> Gonna be going through to edit this in the next couple weeks.

Never before had knocking on a door been so difficult. 

William stood outside office 17, wondering just how he was going to go about this. The plaque slate on the door held no name or department, so he couldn't even be sure he was truly in the right place. William would rather not face the embarrassment of calling on the wrong professor, but he needed this credit. He was desperate, too. What with having no money, even with aid, even with Kevin trying to find new sources of income (though William wasn't sure each 'source' was terrible clean), every chance to shorten his academic years was more than welcome.

With the office continuously telling him that there was no way to take a placement test to opt out of the class, this was his only other option. Although, he couldn't understand why there would be no placement test: It was a basic-level chemistry class, added on to the fact he was already several credits ahead of schedule thanks to his brilliant mind. Why they didn't just give him one giant test and hand him a PhD was beyond him. No; instead, he had to beg this professor to open a spot for him to take the class. Maybe.

So William finally shook his head and just knocked. Maybe he could convince the professor to give him a test to prove he knew the material; the professor could just mark William as present and be done with it. It would give William more time to focus on the classes he needed to focus on, anyway. But chemistry.... While definitely a very sincere love of William's, he wasn't entirely sure where it fell into the political science arena, so the applicable need to take it was beyond him. Unfortunately the faculty didn't see it that way, and William was forced here, just waiting for the door to open.

"Hello?"

William glanced up, meeting a young-looking man standing in the office doorway. Tousled black hair, tanned skin, red eyes, and pierced ears up and down the cuff. Tall, handsome, strong; a modest build William found himself appreciating. Perhaps he was another student begging for a seat? William struggled a moment to find his voice.

"I'm looking for Professor Huber," he finally said.

The man in the doorway grinned, and rather than an expected intimidation in his eyes, William found gentle amusement. "You're looking at him. What do you need?"

Oh.

Okay, then.

William turned his head to the side, trying to beat down his blush and coughing. "I was directed here to request you open a seat for me in your class. I need this credit and I don't feel like waiting until the next term to take it. It would be a great inconvenience for several personal reasons."

Huber nodded, and beckoned William inside the office. It was pretty well-organized, William found. Tons of books, lots of chemistry equipment; a cupboard full of what looked like dangerous chemicals; plaques on the wall of his achievements. Sprinkled about were little flags for other universities' sports teams, and even photographs of certain rugby and football teams.

William's attention returned as Huber had paused to pick up a little fallen bobble head of some American university's football player. (He also discovered that Huber's slacks were a nice fit, but that was neither here nor there, he needed to focus.)

William coughed again. _Focus_. "I wondered, actually, if you might give me an exam, and determining on how well I score, allow me to opt out of your class. Admissions wouldn't allow me—" 

"Michael runs admissions. Jeanne distributes placement tests. They're both fucks." Without sparing a single glance to William (caught rather off guard by Huber's casual … descriptors), Huber opened a drawer, and withdrew several packets. "Here's this term's syllabus, and last term's exam."

Huber's hands were slender, yet rough. There were a few small scars on them – probably from chemical burns and cuts from small knives – but they looked dexterous nonetheless. Skilled. Maybe just staying in the class would be a better idea after all.

_Stop it._

"Don't worry about coming to today's class. Just take the exam in a study room and turn it in to my postbox when you're finished. I'll let you know what to do from there." While talking, Huber ended up scribbling something on the syllabus, circling another something, and then sliding it over to a befuddled William. "Just shoot me a text when you've turned it in," he said, pointing with his pen to one of the circled items.

Wow. William hadn't even given Huber his name yet and already William had the man's phone number.

"I gotta run to get to the lecture hall. Just get that done and we'll talk. Shut the door on your way out."

Short and to the point: William generally liked that. Although … it was rather abrupt, and for a professor?

"Yes, sir."

"Just call me Dantalion."

"William. William Twining."

"Nice to meet you, William."

And without much else, Dantalion had left. The only proof of his presence was the heat continuing to pool in William's face, from embarrassment and confusion to outright aesthetic appreciation of the male form.

So William put on a more controlled face and gathered his papers. With a quick turn and 3 steps, he was out with a click of the door. Staring at the papers as he walked off, his eyes remained keyed on to _Dantalion Huber_. A strange name, sure, but it wasn't the name that continued catching William's concern. It was really more, was Dantalion fit to even be a professor? He didn't fit the mold William had made for one; Dantalion was so casual about everything. Sure, his office was tidy, as any professor's should be, but should someone of his status in the academic world really have enough time for petty sports? And Dantalion seemed to enjoy rushing things, whereas maybe he should take his time. And wasn't he a tad too young and handsome to be a professor at a university?

William sighed, looking away from the papers. In the end, he had two choices: He could take the exam, ace it, and never see or worry about Professor Dantalion Huber again. Which was probably the better path. Or, he could mess up the exam poorly enough to have to attend a few days throughout the semester. Not enough to keep him attending every class for actual academic reasons, of course, but enough to satisfy his ocular desire.

He would figure out what to do before he turned in the exam.

\--

Dantalion's hold on his plastic spork was firm.

Sitri's gaze on Dantalion was knowing.

Dantalion's grip strengthened.

And Sitri grinned. "I know that look."

Dantalion closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and tried to focus on breathing. "No one asked for your input, Sitri."

"Yet you know exactly what I'm talking about." Sitri's was an evil grin. "I saw him."

Dantalion sighed, and finally fixed Sitri with a leer. "So your eyes are working, congratulations."

"He's cute."

"Shut up."

"Really cute."

"I mean it."

"Kinda makes you wanna—"

"Sitri! What part of shut up did you not understand!"

Bellowing laughter escaped Sitri, bouncing off the lunchroom's walls and echoing forever in Dantalion's ears. "I'm sorry." Not really. "But it's been a while since I've seen you so worked up over anyone, and this time it's a student. Taboo."

"It's not taboo!" Dantalion pressed. "It's just not allowed."

"Let me have my fun." ("Why?!") "But what are you going to do about this? You can't exactly teach with a boner in your pants."

"(You want this in your eye, don't you?) I do not—" He groaned, and tried again. "I don't have a _boner in my pants_." Dantalion swirled the spork between his fingers. But he sighed, and looked dejectedly into his lunch. "There's nothing I can do. Just get over it. It happens."

Really, Sitri wasn't terribly wrong. William really was very attractive, and Dantalion really was almost enamored. But, really, what could he do? There was nothing. Teachers weren't allowed to have much to do with their students beyond teaching, or anything of the sort; having a hard-on for a student just continued to spell out bad news. Although Dantalion really preferred to think of it as a boner in his heart, at the moment. Not that he had one of those, either, of course.

"Well, your class only meets twice a week for 2 hours, right? So that's only 4 hours a week."

"Four torturous hours."

"I dunno if he's _that_ attractive."

"He asked for an exam to opt out. I hope he does."

"For my sake, I hope he does, too. I don't want to put up with this all term." Sitri finished up his lunch, cleaning the mess up with a sigh. "You're pathetic."

"What?!" Dantalion screeched. "I've seen how you are around some of your students!"

Sitri grinned. "It's not my fault I'm this beautiful. They flock to me. Although if you don't want him, I'll have him. He's not _my_ student, after all."

"Stay away from him or I will strangle you."

"Wow, already possessive. Just wait until I'm done with my class. Actually, you should sit in for a few lectures, it might help you out."

Sitri taught human sexuality, and Dantalion knew exactly which lectures Sitri was talking about. The grip on the spork returned, and Dantalion's glare intensified. "Or, amazingly, you could just shut up."

Sitri shrugged. "Suit yourself. Although…. If he does end up opting out, then technically he's not your student." Sitri's grin was wide.

Dantalion sighed once more, whimpering in despair as Sitri flaunted off. He was ready to call it quits on his lunch, just not up to finishing it, but before he threw the spork down a small stack of papers landed in front of him. Quickly Dantalion glanced up, finding Camio's glasses reflecting some light. 

"These are for you," he said, taking a seat. "I overheard Michael and Jeanne complaining about a supposedly self-absorbed student going by the name of Twining, William, and then happened to pass by your office while said Twining, William was there. Here's some info." Camio pulled an apple out of his bag, and bit into it. 

Tentatively, Dantalion grabbed the small ream, leafing through it just briefly. "Why?" he asked.

"You and I both understand what it is to be a struggling student in one way or another." He reached over, his finger tapping over William's financial information. "He's going to be buried in loans, so I thought I'd pull out some lesser-known scholarship information, and try to convince you to just give him the credit."

Dantalion let the papers fall back to the table and he sighed. "I can't just give him the credit. I became a professor to teach, not to let students think—"

"Then give him the scholarships. I don't know why he's not getting a full-ride, anyway. Have you seen his previous marks?"

Dantalion's eyes glanced back, finding scores that he didn't often get to see. The kid had to be some kind of genius; why _wasn't_ he getting a full-ride? Then he remembered that Baal was in charge of financial aid, and he grimaced, and groaned. 

"Just thought I'd bring that to your attention." Camio didn't say anything else after that. He just bit into his apple once more. 

\--

As it turned out, William found, there were a few things on the exam Dantalion gave him that he didn't entirely comprehend. (There may or may not have also been some things he completely understood but, for some reason or another – no idea what that reason could be – couldn't translate to paper.) So, later on that first day found him back in Dantalion's office, with Dantalion circling which days to attend on the syllabus. William was also given a stack of scholarship applications to fill out, and an earworm about a free-ride because of his excellent grades.

The term itself, however, really was terrible. At least in Dantalion's class. 

He learned quickly that the others in his class were hardly worth his time and effort. Several times he ended up having to explain to more unlearned students what exactly was being taught, or get those students to stop harassing others. Group papers were the bane of William's academic existence, and with idiots like this in his class it only made everything worse. No one felt the need to put in their part, or bother backing everything up with the right information. (Or any information at all!) Multiple times he went to Dantalion, arguing, "I don't understand why I need to participate in the group papers when I'm only scheduled to come to class several times a month!" And multiple times he heard, "I think you'll find this kind of situation doesn't end once you graduate. Use this time to get used to it." And though he never really brought the subject up, he had heard no updates about his financial aid status, and every time he tried contacting the financial aid office, he was never able to get a straight answer out of anyone. It was infuriating, and it became more and more obvious to William that maybe Dantalion really wasn't suited to being a professor; that maybe the entire university was full of people unable to perform their basic jobs.

But those were far from the last things about the class, or Dantalion, bothering William. No; into the middle of the semester, William still found himself gently appreciating Dantalion's appearance. It was too troublesome, but the only solution to being rid of these issues was dropping the class, and that was Something William Twining Would Never Do. He could sit in the back of the class, he supposed, but that was where students with low ambitions and poorer grades sat, and that was Something William Twining Would Never Be.

Pride. Academy. Desire. It was a terrible situation all around, really. Especially when Dantalion's eyes would meet his own, and stay locked for a second or 12; eyes that seemed to beckon him closer; eyes that slowly caressed up and down his arms, his sides—down his legs. Not that his eyes did the same, of course. Dignity. But just how soft would Dantalion's skin be? Would it instead be coarser? Did he have any tattoos? Any more piercings? Would he be rough? Would he be gentle—

"William, you've been standing there staring off into space for almost 2 minutes. Are you okay?"

Dantalion's hand waved in front of him, and William came back to himself with a small shake of his head. What was he doing? Oh yeah.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I—"

"I'm sorry, I still don't have any update from Financial Aid about the scholarships. The one in charge keeps blowing off my calls, and Professor Cartwright is trying to help out, as well. So you're not forgotten." 

That hadn't been what William was going to address, but it touched him that Dantalion still remembered; that Dantalion was even trying to do anything about it. Not that it was Dantalion's responsibility, of course. Or Cartwright's.

William forced the blush from his cheeks, and shook his head. "Thank you," he said. "But I'm here for a different reason. You have the next lecture circled to attend. However, as I'm going out tomorrow night, I'm unsure if I'll be here that day."

"What's going on? Is something the matter?" Dantalion's eyes held William's, and William saw a kind of concern foreign to him. It was touching, and yet awkward, and he wasn't sure he'd ever felt this way, let alone seen that look. Things were not going well for William on any level. 

"A friend is leaving for India," he said. "I believe he's in your remedial chemistry class. So we're celebrating my birthday early."

Dantalion nodded, redirecting his attention to organizing some of the sports figures on his desk."Mr. Morton, I remember him saying he'd be leaving. But, congratulations. When is your actual birthday?"

"December 8."

"How old are you turning?" Dantalion now balanced a small action figure on top of his computer monitor.

"Eighteen."

Without preamble, and without William seeing it coming, Dantalion was up on his feet, hands slammed down on the desk. "What?! You're only 17?!" Everything on the desk jumped, and the action figure fell clattering onto the keyboard.

William took a small step back. "Ah. Yes…?"

Slowly, Dantalion took his seat again, and it looked like he was trying not to cry. Outside the office door, William heard someone start laughing so hard they couldn't breathe, and with a quick look saw a beautiful-looking professor with lavender hair, tears beading in their eyes, face red. This university was definitely odd.

"S-sorry…." Dantalion ground out. "That's—that's fine! Here are the lecture notes for that day read chapter 9 no questions here's the chapter test have fun tomorrow night!"

With nothing else said, Dantalion quickly left the office, dragging the beautiful, laughing professor with him. 

William stared out the door of the office, the papers disheveled in his hands. He wasn't entirely sure what just happened, but … as long as Dantalion was okay with him not being present for the next lecture, he was fine. Maybe the extra day away from Dantalion would help cool him down, too.

\--

The following Thursday night found Dantalion sitting at the bar of The Blue Beard after grading tests, taking a shot or 3 of tequila every once in a while.

The day had been horrible. So horrible, in fact, that having William in class would probably have made everything better, even for as distracting as it would have been. No, instead what he'd gotten was a voicemail from the previous night, when William had been out with Morton for his not-really birthday. A voicemail that almost made him cancel the day's classes before he realized how silly he was being.

Instead, he'd listened to it again, and stared at it in horrified silence. Instead, he lead himself to the bar to drink, because what better solution to life's problems than alcohol?

"Now, now, Dantalion. You can't drink this much of my product without telling me what's wrong. I'm your best friend!"

Dantalion glared drunkenly at Gilles. "You are anything but my best friend, but if you _must_ know…."

Sitri, next to him, rolled his eyes as Dantalion trailed off to silence, and took Dantalion's phone out, handing it to Gilles. "He got a voicemail."

Dantalion didn't have the energy to care that he heard Gilles pressing buttons, or that Sitri had disabled the password to get to the messages. He only cared that he kept replaying the message over and over again in his head. As if he actually needed to hear it again.

 _"Hmmm so, pro_ fessor…! I saw the way you looked at me – hic – D'you like me? Cuz I like you, yes, very much – hic – It's so hard _to get through class when – hic – all I can think about is you, on top of me…. Bet you're so strong and – hic – commanding. I want you to_ shove _me against the wall and_ ravage _me, mmm Danny—"_

And then the message had cut out, leaving Dantalion staring at his phone for almost 3 hours, unsure of whether his heart would ever calm down or just jump out of his chest and run away. If it wasn't for the abject horror coursing through his veins, Dantalion would definitely find it uncomfortable having pants on and sitting down. However, due to the entire issue and its details, fear was his greatest concern. (Although he'd be lying if he said arousal wasn't riding just beneath the anxiety.)

"So who is this from? (And who's in the background laughing?)" Gilles asked. His smile was wicked.

"One of my students. He's really amazing, and hot in that innocent but proper kind of way, but he's underage, and I just—. Gilles, what do I do?!"

"Commit a felony?"

"Gilles!"

Sitri grabbed the phone back from Gilles, swiping through a few pages and handing it back. "That's him." 

"Oh, _definitely_ commit a felony."

Dantalion's shoulders slumped, and Gilles shrugged, refilling Dantalion's glass. "I don't know what the big deal is, as long as no one finds out."

"There's no way it wouldn't get out. I work with Sitri, and I get drunk here in front of you. …How did I not know?!" he asked aloud. "I've had a packet of his information with his age and birthday _at the top_! For weeks! How did I not see it?!"

Dantalion groaned into his glass as Sitri and Gilles laughed; he took his phone back, and stuffed it into his pocket. He went to school to become a teacher, and then he became a professor. He became a professor to teach what he loved; not to get hot and bothered by under-aged students. William was going to be the death of him.

\--

That Saturday, William received an email with his test's scores. He hadn't done badly, of course, but he had more marked incorrect than he had been ready for. So, despite having the day off from classes, William marched straight to Dantalion's office, throwing open the door to find Dantalion showing something on his phone to the beautiful professor he'd seen earlier in the week.

Dantalion's eyes went wide as William raged closer, the print-out of his test and scores clutched tightly in his hand.

"William!"

"Professor!" He slammed his hands on the desk, his face a foul grimace. "Would you explain to me why my marks on this test are so low?!" He dangled the papers directly before Dantalion.

Dantalion glanced quickly at the test, then pushed them aside. "Low? You scored a 95!"

"You apparently don't know me that well. I demand my test be re-scored immediately!"

"I'm not re-scoring your test, William—"

"Then I will be seeing the Head of the department!"

Something shifted in Dantalion's eyes and he shook his head. "Fine! Fine!" he conceded. "I'll re-score your test! Sitri, come with me, please!"

Dantalion snatched the papers from William's hands and fled the office, Sitri staying still. William let his eyes wander from Dantalion's spinning chair, to the doorway, and then to Sitri. 

"What's his problem? I'm the one with a bad test!" He crossed his arms, glaring at the bobble head on Dantalion's desk before flicking it off. "How did such an irresponsible man like him become a professor?!" he asked. "He speaks far too casually of his coworkers; too casually to his students. His lectures, although informative, are too loose. And this! All this sports paraphernalia? Too many distractions at the workplace. It's ridiculous."

Sitri's eyebrows furrowed, eyes glancing between William and the phone Dantalion left on the desk. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

Sitri picked up Dantalion's phone and went to the logs. "You called him late Wednesday night."

"What? No, I can't have. I was out," William said, but there on the phone, under Wednesday, was his name and number. (And picture?)

"You left a voicemail, too. Here." Sitri pressed a few more buttons, and handed it to William as it started to play.

And with every word of his own voice he was forced to listen to, the color drained from William's face more and more. The tighter his stomach knotted. The weaker his legs felt. This was a joke, wasn't it? William couldn't breathe, and if those were tears in his eyes, he didn't care. He could have ruined everything for himself.

"I'd say that more than anything to do with sports, you're his Number One distraction. You've got him quite worked up over this."

William threw the phone down. "That's not me," he said, shaking his head. Nope, no way.

"Yes it is. But I wouldn't worry. Dantalion already had an interest in you; you know how tirelessly he's working to get your tuition taken care of?"

William stayed quiet, trying to force the uncomfortable feeling from his gut. It wasn't working. 

"Baal isn't making it any easier, though; he keeps saying the papers are getting lost in the post, or there's a network error on _their_ end. So it's more than getting your paperwork taken care of, it's trying to get Baal fired." Sitri fell into Dantalion's seat spinning around before tucking under the desk, head held daintily above laced fingers. "Dantalion is really very taken with you, message or no message. And he really is a very good professor, if unorthodox in his methods. He tells me every now and then how impressive you are. How intelligent and hard-working you are." Sitri paused, and William looked away quickly when Sitri's eyes found his. Sitri then sighed. "I would take a step back from the entire situation and breathe for a moment."

But William didn't want to hear any of this. He didn't need to know the professor he would eye from time-to-time actually liked him. He didn't need to know the professor he thought didn't belong there was going out of his way to help him. He didn't need to know the professor he thought of every now and then thought about him all the time.

"Although, if you had another motive…. Is it that you'd like to raise your grades? Sleeping with him _would_ probably work. You only have to ask him, really."

"I—! That is _not_ what I'm here for! I'm here on my own merit! I have no intention of sleeping with him for any reason—"

Sitri sighed, and muttered, "Decent people. There's no need for you to worry, though. The only thing he's worried about is anyone _else_ finding out he has a thing for you."

"What? You mean he…?"

"Whoops, I've said a little too much. Better go see what he needs from me." Sitri pushed himself out from under the desk and spun around to stand. William caught Sitri's glance again, only this time he couldn't glance away. Sitri was a beautiful person, and apparently could read minds, or something, because Sitri grinned almost lasciviously.

"But," he began. "I've got the next set of papers ready to go to Baal to get your scholarships and tuition taken care of. So if you do find yourself in need, of anything, my office is next door."

Sitri walked by slowly, brushing close as he passed. William could feel the heat in his face, and wanted nothing more than to smash Dantalion's phone against Sitri's head.

"Make sure you shut the door on your way out!"

Without much time between one thought and the next, Sitri had disappeared, and William could have sworn his heart sunk just low enough to be excruciatingly uncomfortable. (Perhaps 'sank' was too calm and passive a verb to use, though.) William liked to think of himself as a capable, respectable student. If he truly did leave that … suggestive … voicemail; if Dantalion did think of William that way…. Then his reputation was doomed to disaster. If Sitri was serious in his flirtations, then how would that even play out? And with William being only 17—what did that mean for Dantalion?

But far more pressing than that, _Dan_ ny. Of anything—Danny?! It was difficult enough just addressing him so casually as Dantalion, but _Danny_. William wasn't sure if maybe that was more embarrassing than any of the salacious comments. 

William turned sharply on his heel to leave the office, slamming the door shut behind him. As he marched down the hall and outside to the campus grounds, he angrily shuffled through his phone's contacts. Isaac was already en route to India; calling him would do no good. But Mycroft had been with them as well. Mycroft would probably know better than either William or Isaac what had happened. So William hastily pressed the call button, and impatiently waited to hear Mycroft's, _"Hello?"_

"Mycroft! What do you remember from Wednesday night?"

Mycroft laughed. _"I remember about everything. I was the only one who didn't drink."_

"Did I … do anything that could complicate my immediate future?"

_"That's a rather strange way to put it, but I don't think so. Not really. Isaac was making fun of you about that professor you have, calling him 'Danny', and then blackmailed you into calling him. You were pretty far gone, and you left a really. Suggestive voicemail. Why?"_

William groaned into the phone. "My life is terrible, that's why."

_"Did your professor call you out?!"_

"Yes, but no; it's complicated. Things are terrible."

Mycroft was quiet for a moment, and William could only imagine the conclusions he was coming to. Mycroft wasn't dumb; he was very smart and very perceptive—he'd been a prefect alongside William at Stradford, and his largest competition for Head Boy. _"I'm sorry,"_ he said. _"Is there anything I can do to help?"_

"I would say to erase everything from that night, but. I'll just have to live through the consequences and deal with it."

_"It'll be fine! If anyone can find a way through this, it's you."_

William grinned as he stopped under a tree. "We'll see," he said. "But thank you, Mycroft."

_"Yeah. If you need anything else, give me a call. Bye."_

"Mhmm. Bye."

William ended the call and threw the phone in his bag. 

He wasn't sure if he felt better about the situation or not. At least now, if Dantalion did say anything about it, he knew what had happened. (Kind of.) But, and maybe more concerning, what if Dantalion didn't ask him about it? If Dantalion was having issues with attraction to William, he might not approach the subject with him. Which meant he wouldn't know why William called and left the message, because William most certainly didn't want to broach the subject on his own. And he wouldn't, if he trusted Sitri not to tell Dantalion that William knew about the message and everything. There was no easy route for this, and it was driving William crazy.

Well, then he would just have to put up with the next couple weeks by sheer willpower alone. He had a feeling that things were going to become mighty uncomfortable mighty quick.

\--

When Dantalion returned to his empty office later that day, he found his phone blinking with a new voicemail, and only tentatively did he go to listen to it. But … it wasn't bad. Rather, William had left a polite, nicely-worded message. It was short, quaint; apologizing for the drunken voicemail, his behavior, and asking forgiveness. Dantalion thought maybe everything would be okay, but when William didn't show up for his next scheduled classes, he thought something might be wrong. He emailed him his assignments and brief comments of concern, and the next day, William had shown up. The only difference was that he sat in the back of the class, and never once looked up. 

And then finals week happened. In and out William came and went, flying through the exam quickly and smoothly, with only one wrong answer. Dantalion would say it was the most beautiful display of test-taking he'd ever seen, but he was still a little on-edge about everything, so perhaps describing anything William did, positively or negatively, was not the thing to do. So he focused on his other classes and their tests. The term hadn't seen the worst group of grades it ever had, but it had seen better, of course. Part of Dantalion blamed himself for being so distracted, and the other (likely greater) part of him said, "No, you just have really dumb students."

Dantalion had finally gotten things to go through for William's tuition, as well. The faculty and staff seemed more than surprised that a student like William had been denied any kind of placement test, let alone having not been awarded the paid tuition records said he was to have received. Baal didn't stay very long after that. But Dantalion, despite everything else happening with William, felt relieved. All he awaited was a confirmation from the financial aid office.

It was Saturday night when he finished grading all of the exams. He'd put the scores in the computer system the next day, he decided. Right now, he needed a drink; just to relax. (And definitely not lament over probably not seeing William ever again.) He sent Sitri a quick text message, grabbed his coat, and headed out.

He hadn't realized how late it was by the time he reached The Blue Beard. It was just 11 o' clock; normally Dantalion would be ready to sleep, but with the excitement of the end of term, there was no way he was letting this night go to waste. He planned not to get drunk, really, but just loosen up enough to drop any formal demeanor he might still be clinging onto. His mission was to just relax in all honesty, but if he were to score, he wouldn't complain. Maybe with a blond. Maybe with a blond with green eyes, he didn't know, he just had a rough outline of what he wanted.

Walking in, Dantalion head straight for the bar, taking his usual seat next to Sitri and nodding to Gilles. "How were your exams?"

Sitri shrugged. "Typical. The boys never seem to get a firm enough grasp on any sexual health that isn't their own; I'm tempted to speak to the Powers that Be to do something about it. Yours?" 

"Same," he said as Gilles placed a beer before him. "Nothing exciting."

Their banter went on, several beers were downed, and un-named students were trash-talked. Dantalion hadn't forgotten about his issues, but he was feeling better and better with the prospect of never having to see William again. He wasn't sure he had stopped laughing, honestly, and it was what he needed after a stressful term. Students who didn't want to try. Students who thought they deserved a medal just for showing up. Students he wanted to bang. Stressful.

"What do you plan on doing during break?" Sitri asked. 

Dantalion grinned. "Same thing I'm doing now. Drinking. Maybe sleep for a few hours here and there. But mostly drinking."

Gilles, Dantalion, and Sitri all raised their glasses in toast (Gilles grabbed another client's), cheering each other on with sloshing beer and clinking glasses. Several others in the bar followed suit, leaving the three snickering at the others' drunkenness. But just as they were settling down from the toast, there was a gasp from Gilles as he returned the other customer's beer.

"Is that him?"

Dread and excitement found Dantalion and started pinching his gut. When he turned his head quickly to look down the bar, the pinch turned immediately into a rough uppercut. He groaned. "That's him."

"Is it too late for that felony?"

"Gilles!" 

Gilles purred. "Oh, he's adorable! I'll have him, if you won't."

"Don't you dare go near him! He's mine!" Dantalion snarled back. His good mood was gone, his smile replaced with a sneer. Gilles peered back at him with a long, uninterested and uncaring look, and Dantalion was ready to add more, but he was interrupted with a scoff, and an almost elitist voice.

" _Excuse me_?" 

At the tone, Dantalion froze. He hadn't meant to catch his attention; he hadn't meant to be so loud. He hadn't meant for him to walk over right behind them. He hadn't wanted to feel that doom-ridden glare aimed at the back of his head. He had meant for none of this, he never asked for any of this and yet it was what he received.

"I'm _what_ , now?"

Dantalion groaned, slowly turning his head. Sure enough, William stood there with his haughty stance. Shoulders back, chin high. He stared Dantalion down, his arms crossed and feet planted firmly in place. "Student," he tried, quietly. "My student."

"I've not been your student for almost 3 days, now. Try again."

"Not until midnight, officially; you're still my student." Dantalion returned to his beer. Maybe William would leave.

But instead, William scoffed after glancing at his watch. "Another 13 minutes, hardly with a mention. What are you doing here? Don't you have exams to be grading?"

Dantalion turned around much more quickly this time. "I'm a full-grown man! I can very well do as I please! They're already graded, anyway."

William stopped immediately, a shine of excitement in his eyes. He was closer, hands suddenly grasping Dantalion's shoulders and he stared right into his eyes. "What did I get? What was my score?!"

Dantalion didn't do much to discourage William's proximity. He might have wiggled a big toe in opposition; he couldn't dredge up the willpower to do much else. "I don't recall, I have hundreds of students."

"Don't be daft, you and I both know you know what I scored." The sarcasm glinting in William's eyes faded, replaced with something softer, and something that maybe felt a little more dangerous. "You're the professor," he said. His voice was quieter, and became more breath than sound as it egged along. As well, his hands loosened their grips, becoming lighter on Dantalion's shoulders and comforting as William's fingers lightly drummed along in an airy massage. "Shouldn't you know?"

And what Dantalion had been hoping to avoid since he first laid eyes on William happened (not that it hadn't happened at all, of course); he could feel the heat growing all over his body, especially in areas he'd wished it to avoid. Things were going to get uncomfortable fast. He tried opening his mouth to speak, but his voice needed to be coaxed out, cracking half-way through his answer, "Ninety-nine point 7."

William backed away a step, an almost-satisfied grin on his face, but then it fell just slightly. "I missed a perfect score by three 10ths of a percent?"

"You listed only bromine under elements that are liquid at room temperature. It would have been a half-point off, but you mention gallium, so I gave you a .75 on that question."

"You mean because I didn't list something so elementary, you marked me down?!" William yelled. "That's like not heading cooking directions with 'One! Walk to stove'!"

"Not at all the same! Besides! The question asked for the only two examples of the fact—"

"But you know I know!"

"I know! But the test doesn't! The department doesn't!"

William groaned loudly, irritation more than evident. "This is ridiculous! They're not going to read through my answers! Only you do!"

"I'm not changing the score, William!"

"Piss off!"

" _You_ piss off!"

"Oh my god, both of you—"

"Shut up, Sitri!" both shot back, before turning their attention back to each other. Through their yelling, Sitri rolled his eyes and stole Dantalion's forgotten drink as Gilles pulled his phone out to start taking pictures and videotaping it all.

"You have done nothing but piss me off this entire term!" William complained. "From scores, to empty lessons, to countless other issues—"

"Imagine having you as a student! Some over-qualified, elitist brat!"

"Ha! Not comparable to some teacher who thinks he's part of some punk-rock band!"

"As though that holds a light to leaving drunken, sexual voicemails on your professor's phone!"

William brightened for only a moment, regaining his cool quickly. "Says the one who snuck a photograph of me; who Sitri says has a torch for me—"

"Why are you here, William!" Dantalion demanded. The conversation couldn't continue as it was. At least William went with it.

"I'm here for a drink. I can legally purchase one in…." He looked to his watch. "Ten minutes."

"Pah, not at _my_ bar." 

Dantalion swung back around to Gilles in surprise, only for that shock to dissipate as Gilles filled a tankard with beer.

"It's past midnight in Paris!" he said happily, and handed over the drink to William, who mostly stared at it for a moment.

Dantalion snickered. "It's not your first time drinking, you know. There's proof on my phone of that."

"Oh, can it. I just…." He looked at the beer guiltily, now. "What if they find out? I can't legally purchase alcohol until midnight—what if they find out? What if I can't become a member of Parliament because I'm breaking the law?"

Gilles leaned over the counter, reaching to caress a hand down William's face. Dantalion thought at first it was rather creepy, but honestly…. It was Gilles.

"Now, now," he began. "Technically, you didn't pay for this; you didn't purchase anything. So that's okay, isn't it? You're not breaking the law!"

William lightened up a little bit with a small nod. "Sitri, would you mind using my phone to take a photo? I have to send proof to Isaac that I got this."

Sitri nodded, taking the phone from William and trying to decide which angle would be best as he figured out William's phone. He hmmed and ahhed, before shoving Dantalion to William's side. "If you don't pose, I'm taking that voicemail and sending it to the Headmaster."

"That requires having my phone first!"

"Who said I don't?" Quickly, Sitri pointed to the odd shape in his jeans' pocket, the corner of a phone poking out of it. 

"How did you get my phone?!"

"It's easier to knick things from you than you seem to think. Now pose, and at least look like you're having a good time."

Dread filled Dantalion, and he reached an arm around William's shoulders, trying to smile, but it definitely didn't reach his eyes. Sitri was evil, he was sure of this, but his entire life was riding on this picture. It probably didn't help that he heard Gilles' phone clicking picture after picture, as well. The thing was, with that, it was for Gilles' own terrible amusement and potential blackmail. Not to prove to Isaac that William had actually gotten a drink. 

But then something shifted. William had readjusted his footing, and leaned in some for the picture. Dantalion looked down, seeing hints of William's shit-eating grin, and Dantalion had to smile – for real – at that. For the photo, Dantalion understood the actions clearly, but when William's hidden hand rose slowly, dragging up his spine, until his fingers feathered over the nape of Dantalion's neck, that's when Dantalion realized maybe William wasn't doing it just for the picture.

He wasn't going to lie.

He was thrilled. So, his hand slowly fell from William's shoulder, snaking its way down William's back until it reached that dip. He let his thumb rub slowly and softly until William moved. His first thought was that he'd bothered William too much, but soon enough he was back at Dantalion's side. Just for a moment, though. He'd taken his phone back from Sitri, and leaned back against Dantalion as he sent the image off to Isaac.

"Oh, here, Dantalion." 

William moved aside a bit more as he worked on wording a message, Dantalion watching him walk off to a back hallway, and Sitri handed over Dantalion's phone, laying it on the countertop. "Here you go. I just held it hostage for that to work."

"Your blunt honesty never surprises me."

"At least you know I won't lie."

Dantalion took a drink from his beer. "Not sure if that's good or bad." But it wasn't just that that could be bad, but he knew Gilles had photos, and he knew how Gilles operated—he had probably gotten some decent shots or videos of William's and Dantalion's hands – as subtle as the movements were – and what would happen with those could spell bad news.

Dantalion was pulled from his thoughts as his phone started clattering with vibrations against the bar's counter. Quickly he grabbed it, and opened up his messages. He had just one new message on there.

_Come to the back._

And it was from William.

Part of him wanted to gasp, another part wanted to scream, and he wasn't sure what the last part wanted to do. Jump in joy? Punch the air? He just—he wasn't sure what to do in general. So he just sighed as he closed down his phone, stuffed it in his pocket and stood. He honestly tried being as discreet as possible, but then he remembered that the people he hung out with were terrible people, sending him knowing glances.

"Bathroom?" Sitri asked

"Y-yes."

"Uh-uh. Have fun defiling your student."

Dantalion walked faster.

"It's still a felony!" Gilles called excitedly. "Seven minutes!"

Dantalion ran.

By the time he did reach the dimly-lit back, and by the time his heart slowed down (just from fright, really), he could take just one breath.

His second breath had been stolen from him by a hand grasping the front of his shirt to yank him down, and a pair of lips taking away his surprised yelp. 

There was no opportunity to pull away, but Dantalion couldn't complain. William kept trying to pull him closer and closer, his hands eventually grabbing onto Dantalion's arms. Their lips never broke contact, not even as Dantalion relaxed and stood a little more comfortably. His own hands found spots to grab on to, as well. One hand rested on the side of William's neck; the other went straight to his hip. He was ecstatic, and he kissed William back harder until both of them deepened their kiss, their hands gripping even tighter. Dantalion pressed closer against William, shoving him back some against the wall to which William responded by biting on Dantalion's lip and moving his hands down Dantalion's torso. 

His mind was foggy, but Dantalion didn't think that was a bad thing. Was it? He was buzzing with excitement, and every time William pressed his hips to Dantalion's, that excitement just kept growing. Finally, Dantalion pulled away from William, just a small, agonizing step. 

William's glossy eyes were filled with confusion and desire, and Dantalion could only be positive that his own reflected the same. He wanted nothing more than to hold William there and kiss him, and touch him in every way possible, and just release all of his pent-up tension and frustration and passion. Part of him couldn't help but stop—but he was finally getting what he wanted, at last, why did he stop? He felt William's hands move some more, up to his shoulders, through his hair; his fingers dragged slowly over his ears' cuffs and rings.

"You're not doing this because you're drunk, are you?" Dantalion asked, and he looked William up and down. His lips were slightly swollen, and more pink than usual. His face was flushed, and Dantalion could feel his body heat. He had no doubt he looked the same. 

But William quirked an eyebrow up. "I haven't had a single drop of alcohol, my drink is still at the bar. …Can't say the same for you, though. I can taste it on you." He licked his lips.

Dantalion grinned sarcastically, trying to pretend he didn't just see that. "I'm not drunk. You'd know if I was drunk."

"Are we going to just keep wasting our time, or are you going to kiss me again?"

"You kissed me first!"

"What does that matter?!"

"Then you should have said, 'Or may _I_ kiss you again'."

"Are you kidding me."

Dantalion readied his argument (not that it was much of one), but the moment he opened his mouth to counter, it was preoccupied with William's, and he gave in immediately. More roughly this time, Dantalion pushed William against the wall, William's laugh muting itself in Dantalion's kiss. As relieved as Dantalion felt, he could also feel his body wanting more, and more, and if William pressing himself against Dantalion was any indication, then William, too, was thinking along the same lines. 

Proved, maybe, when William reached his hands into Dantalion's back pockets, groping at him to push him impossibly closer. Their breathing grew heavier, their temperatures rose, and Dantalion was fairly certain he was close to pulling William into a cupboard in less than a moment. Instead he lifted William's leg around his waist, hoisting him up to pin him against the wall, and he could feel William against him. He could feel William smirk onto Dantalion's lips, and he knew: William could feel him, too. If he didn't practice a little more control, the cupboard would be out of the question entirely.

Again they broke, William still held aloft with his arms draped around Dantalion's neck. Both were laughing lightly, catching their breaths as their blood continued rushing hotly through them. Dantalion felt one of William's arms move just a bit as his watch gave a small beep, and was then given a wide, shining smile. He leaned down some, pressing a far gentler kiss before,

"Professor—"

"Dantalion."

William grinned some more, continuing to press small kisses as Dantalion's hands came up to rest on William's hips with a firm grip.

"I'm not your professor anymore." Dantalion looked straight to William's eyes, and they stayed there, staring at each other; with the calm, they could feel that their battered lips were tender, but not sore, and every bit of contact sent strong electric shivers through them. Then, William looked away just momentarily, face even more red than before as realization seemed to set in.

"I'm not underage anymore," he said, leaning in to whisper into Dantalion's ear. It was just loud enough for him to hear; just loud enough for him to understand. But the words themselves made more than just a statement. It was more than just a fact thrown out there for no reason. It was a suggestion.

A very tempting suggestion.

\--

It had taken probably three tries to get his key into the lock, as William had his arms wrapped around him from behind, fingers playing with the buttons of Dantalion's coat. But finally the door opened, and Dantalion eagerly pulled William inside. Their mouths met again and again, hands awkwardly working on removing their clothes. Dantalion stumbled and tripped over an assortment of things, but it didn't deter either of them as Dantalion finally managed to get to his bedroom. William worked still on Dantalion's shirt as he finished kicking off his trousers, and Dantalion went on to finish taking William's shirt off. There was no order, no rhythm; just a few loose priorities.

William sat down on the bed, pulling Dantalion down as his free hand slid down further and further and crawled its way beneath Dantalion's boxers and grabbed at his dick. Dantalion exhaled against William's cheek, allowing his own hand to do the same to William. He laid open-mouthed kisses along William's jaw, then decided to pay attention to a soft, sweet spot on his neck. He let his tongue play to the tempo William's hand set; when William was rough, Dantalion let his teeth scrape where he felt William's pulse, and when William's touch was light, Dantalion blew air to chill his skin and he delighted in the shivers he felt William suffer. 

He tried as hard as he could to keep a decent pace on William, but there was too much else going on for him to focus. Instead, he pulled away any remaining clothing William wore and crawled down to the floor, kneeling before the bed to take William's cock in his mouth. 

Hot, pulsing, soft; Dantalion slowly took more of William in, slowly enough to keep William impatient. Slowly enough for even Dantalion to become impatient. But he took his time, reveling in William's taste. Reveling in William's pleased, breathy groans; in the way William's fingers swept through his hair. 

After a particular hook of William's breath, Dantalion took the entirety of William's cock into his mouth and grabbed at his thighs. His fingertips pressed hard into William's soft skin, making his legs move apart a little wider. William's breath slowly became more and more ragged, which Dantalion enjoyed immensely, working his way back up, and leaving a thin string of saliva between William's cock and his bottom lip. Grinning, Dantalion slowly grazed his teeth along the inside of William's thigh. William gasped again, and shut his legs around Dantalion's shoulders.

Dantalion looked up to William. His eyes were hazy, almost lost, and it made Dantalion grin wider. "Something wrong?" he asked.

William furrowed his eyebrows. "Stop playing around."

And in response, all Dantalion did was reach aside as William loosened his legs, grabbing a small, clear bottle. Quickly he poured some of the contents to his fingers before tossing the bottle back down, and then pushed William back to huddle over him. With his clean hand, he pushed William's legs back, and he put his mouth back along William's shaft to drag his lips along it as the other hand went straight to William's ass. 

Slowly at William's gasp, Dantalion carefully worked a finger in, trying his best to make sure William felt as little discomfort as possible. Making sure to remember what flicks of his tongue William enjoyed most as if to distract him. If Dantalion recognized a certain hitch in William's breathing, his finger stopped, and it went on until all Dantalion heard from him was comfortable and impatient moaning as he was stretched.

It echoed Dantalion's impatience and yearning, and when William started tugging on his hair, he took that as his cue to move on. Quickly he reached aside once more, grabbing a condom from the drawer and hastily opened it in time for to William sit up and move down to straddle Dantalion. His face was pink, a very light sheen of sweat making his skin glisten, and he began kissing down his neck. Dantalion shivered when William's hand found his dick, having been painfully and shamefully ignored, and circled Dantalion's swollen tip with a finger, spreading the pre-come around liberally before bringing that finger to his mouth. A pang of want, need, and desire struck through Dantalion, and without much effort he lifted William back to the bed. 

Looking down at him, Dantalion suddenly tensed. As if he hadn't just had his tongue all over William's dick; as if he hadn't just readied him to be fucked. His hand shook just slightly, moving to finally put the condom on, but he soon had other things on his mind as William pushed him aside to straddle him again. 

"Nervous, Professor?" he asked. But despite the abrupt switch and the teasing in William's tone, William's hand was gentle and soft when it grabbed Dantalion's, as if William was telling him _it's okay_. And past the sensuality in William's eyes, Dantalion could see more of William he had yet to discover, and it was tempting and exciting, and suddenly everything felt so much more important, and the need to truly know William overwhelmed him. But William's touch was stabilizing, and with it Dantalion released a breath, calming down and reaching up William's arms. William fixed the condom on Dantalion, leaning down to leave another kiss to tingle on Dantalion's lips.

William's fingers splayed over Dantalion's chest, and Dantalion watched excitedly as William's hips rose to hover over his own, and slowly sank down, pausing for a short time every so often before continuing. The heat and pressure Dantalion felt was both torturous and a relief, and looking back to William, Dantalion saw him wince once or twice. 

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. 

William gave a short nod of his head, his fingers gripping harder at Dantalion. "Yeah." Then he grinned. "You're just wider than you give yourself credit for." With that, William let himself finish descending with a shaky, but full, sigh. Dantalion watched William; every small change of his expression, every minute shift. He listened to every breath William made, and every small sound that escaped from his throat. He kept shifting his weight, trying to find a more comfortable position, but Dantalion didn't dare move despite every part of him wanting nothing else. 

The look on Dantalion's face must have been something awkward; when William opened his eyes and looked at Dantalion, his face turned red immediately. "What's that face for?" he asked. 

Dantalion had been grinning, and he propped himself up on an elbow, the other hand going to comb through William's hair and bring him down for another kiss. While William was distracted, Dantalion flipped them back over, carefully, resuming the kiss briefly as William wrapped his legs around Dantalion. That was all Dantalion needed to start moving at last. 

The sounds from William – the breathing, the panting, the moaning – were merely fuel for Dantalion. He grabbed hold of William's legs, trying to get it just right, trying to find where exactly to hit to make William's stomach curl, to make him arch into Dantalion, but it would mean the end of hearing William's voice like this. Something Dantalion didn't want to ever end. But if William did keep on moaning, and moving like this, it wouldn't be long before either of them came. There was no way he could keep listening to William, feeling William, seeing William, and not eventually blow.

Several trying thrusts, several deep groans, and William's breathing changed pace. It was uneven, it was faster; the movement of his hips found a rhythm with Dantalion's. It added pressure and heat to Dantalion, and he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to take much more.

And he couldn't. William tightened himself around Dantalion, and that was it. The heat gathering within him shot forth, leaving his breath caught within him, and he thrust back into William only a few more times, with no order or cadence, but it didn't matter. He could feel something unnaturally warm on his skin, just above his navel. Looking down, trying hard to catch his breath, he saw William with a tired grin, and further down their bodies, William's come coating his front in splotches.

Groaning, Dantalion pulled out of William and rolled to the side, still trying to catch his breath and remember how to move the rest of his body. It must have come back to him somehow, because the next thing he remembered was that he was cleaned off, and was handing William a towel.

"The shower's right across the hall, if you want," Dantalion offered. 

William quirked an eyebrow, sidling closer to Dantalion. "An entire term of tension building up, and we're done just like that?"

Dantalion paused. Then allowed a smirk. 

"We don't have to be."

\--

William was used to waking up to an alarm, but when it was someone texting him relentlessly, that's when he had an issue. The unfortunate part about that was that it wasn't even _his_ phone blowing up. That was when he remembered he wasn't at home, in his bed. Instead, he was at his professor's - former professor's! – house. Part of him considered opening his eyes, but a greater part decided against it, so instead he pulled the covers over his head. His body, he found, was sore and tired, but he grinned at the memory. Only for a moment, though; apparently his jaw was sore, too.

Eventually, William could hear Dantalion start grumbling and start moving around some to grab his phone. He was fairly certain he heard some choice vocabulary float about—no doubt cursing Sitri and Gilles.

But then another sound made its presence known; William's text tone went off and he almost whined. But, he did as he had to. He threw the covers back and reached down to the floor for his trousers as his tone continuously rang off without rest. The blinking light shone through the fabric in the pocket, offending William's not yet-adjusted eyes terribly. But he pushed the annoyance aside, and quickly brought the message up so he could try once more to sleep. 

What he read in the first message, though, was quickly having the opposite effect.

_From: Isaac  
YOU SLEPT WITH PROFESSOR HUBER?!_

_What…?_ he mouthed, staring at the phone. It was from Isaac, along with a, "Happy Birthday!" message sent some time before it. But then he shook his head; he really didn't want to know what prompted Isaac's omniscience. He could work out for himself what happened, and Sitri was a key player, but Sitri also wasn't on his list of immediate concerns. That spot actually belonged to the verb 'to sleep'.

But he decided he may as well check the other messages, and he wasn't so sure that was a good idea. He had a message from Mycroft; some messages from Sitri and Gilles, both of whom had sent him pictures and videos of the night before, from at the bar with Dantalion to the back hallway with. Dantalion. He groaned. Sending the pictures to him or Dantalion was one thing, but sending them to Isaac was a different issue. (How Isaac got sex out of a picture of them making out did confuse William slightly. Then again, Isaac wasn't always the brightest of the bunch.)

But, as long as it went nowhere else (because there would be Hell to pay if they went anywhere else), William tossed his phone back to his trousers, and sleepily rolled over to Dantalion's side. 

Dantalion, who had his phone open; who absent-mindedly was going through some texts he had received himself; some texts with photo messages; photo messages with William and Dantalion as the subjects. Both of them at Gilles' bar, in the back hallway, not-so-furtively making out. But then he saw, as Dantalion continued scrolling down, a head of messy blond hair, the hair tapering off slowly to skin marked by what looked like hickeys. Looking a little more closely, wasn't the design on that pillow familiar? Looking back over, he found yes—it was very familiar. Grey and black stripes. And then readjusting his focus back to the picture on Dantalion's phone, everything just seemed to fall into place. So that was probably what Isaac had seen, thanks to Sitri.

"I swear on my life, if that goes anywhere it's not supposed to, I promise to make the rest of your life a veritable Hell."

Dantalion froze just momentarily. 

"I appreciate that you didn't capture any terribly distinguishing features, but it's already made its way to Isaac, in India. Delete it. Now."

Dantalion gulped audibly and hurriedly made sure to delete any trace of the picture and the entire string of conversation. He didn't say anything, but William decided it was probably better that way.

"Would you mind terribly if I took a quick shower?" William asked. Dantalion shook his head, and William, despite every muscle in his body protesting, hurried out of the bed, and rushed around grabbing his clothes. Suddenly he felt terribly awkward. 

It was the morning after, he'd just slept with his professor (yes, yes, former); he had no idea what the protocol was for this. Shower and leave? Was it even okay to take a shower? Should he just rush back home? Well, regardless of what he was supposed to do, he was definitely taking the shower; he refused to step in public with dirtied hair, and smelling of sex. It was bad enough he had to wear the same clothes and probably face Kevin. 

But once the hot water was running over him, those worries faded away. As long as he was clean, he could at least fake it. He ended up spending a little more time in the shower than he had initially planned, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to care. 

Once dried off and dressed, stepping out into the hall, William was met with the smell of breakfast. Then, stepping down to the kitchen, he was met with the _sight_ of said breakfast. Dantalion set down a plate (eggs, bacon, slices of tomatoes, sausages, tea—wow) and pulled the chair out. 

"You take a long shower," he said, smirking. "I managed a quick one _and_ got breakfast done in time."

William took the offered seat, ignoring the comment and eyeing Dantalion as he readied his own plate. "What's the breakfast for?"

Dantalion shrugged, taking his own seat opposite William and trying hard to hide any color that came to his cheeks. "I thought it would be nice."

Again William didn't respond, and instead took a few bites. It wasn't bad. It actually wasn't bad at all, and it helped distract from those minutes of terribly awkward silence before he finished with a, "Thank you for breakfast. I do have to leave, though."

It was a terrible moment, because William didn't feel his voice should be cracking at 18 years old.

"Ah. Right, yes."

Dantalion helped William gather up the rest of his things (phone, wallet, etc.), and lead him to the door. William's heart was hammering; he'd gotten what he'd wanted, and now that it was over…. What now? Looking Dantalion up and down, William had no doubt he'd still want him, and he wondered if maybe Dantalion was the same. The way Dantalion had treated him as they messed around (rough, but kindly), the look in his eyes when Dantalion thought he wasn't looking (aroused, but infatuated). Dantalion even went out of his way to cook breakfast—something William hadn't even considered until he'd actually seen it. 

At the door and slipping his shoes on, William tried several times to say something, but no sound ever made it. It seemed like Dantalion was trying to say something as well, but his words were incoherent clips at best.

"We-well—"

"Here."

Suddenly shoved into William's hand was a folded letter, and he stared at it quizzically. "This is…?" he asked, glancing up.

"Your tuition information. I, er, did some research into your financial information regarding the school and found it odd that you weren't being given a free ride despite your grades. So I looked into it and took care of it. You won't need to worry about loans."

William felt everything stop. Dantalion's words were too good to be true. "Wait, are you … serious…?" he asked hastily, opening the letter up and skimming through the first few congratulatory lines. The questions and worries and anxieties he felt and tried to ignore finally fell away. 

"There'll be a copy of this letter arriving to you soon, but I got earlier news than you did."

Regardless of whether it was appropriate or not, William threw his arms around Dantalion's neck, chanting, "Thank you," over and over again. He wouldn't cry though, even if he felt he could definitely start doing that any moment, and he felt himself relax when finally Dantalion held him back.

"It wasn't a big deal, it just took a while. I'm sorry it took as long as it did."

William let go, trying not to grin _too_ much, although the loss of Dantalion's arms around him probably helped a little bit. He wanted Dantalion's touch back, which he hadn't realized he'd avoided since waking up. Of course, not that Dantalion made a concerted effort, and William had been the one to hug Dantalion first, he supposed. Even so. 

"It's fine. It's taken care of. There's no use worrying about the past."

Without preamble, the silence had returned. William kept trying to distract himself with the letter, but the buzzing in the back of his mind, the distraction that was Dantalion, kept sneaking up and wanting to take over. So instead, William changed track. "I suppose I'll see you at the school, then." And he immediately wished he could have thought of something less stereotypical.

But Dantalion nodded, opening the door and appearing like he was trying to look anywhere but at William. It was disappointing, really. But maybe it was for the best, William thought. 

He kept reminding himself of that as he took the two steps down to the walk hugging his jacket a little tighter, and just as he turned to really take off, Dantalion stopped him.

"Don't take the next chemistry class."

William turned quickly. "Wha—why not?"

"I'm putting it forward for you to skip it. You know the material, no point in you wasting your time, right?"

"I—I suppose."

"And it—" Dantalion cleared his throat. "It—it would make it more awkward in class as I'd likely end up being your professor once more. That is—! I mean, unless you wouldn't mind doing something Friday, if you're free…."

William walked back up the few steps and reached up to place one last kiss on Dantalion's lips. "I'm free," he said, and he could see in Dantalion's grin everything he felt himself. It pulled something from within him, and William had to bite his lip to keep from grinning even more when he started to realize what exactly it was. 

"Fantastic. I'll text you later on with ideas, then."

William nodded, then turned back around with a, "Cheers."

And when he heard Dantalion's door shut, William may or may not have punched his fists into the air.


End file.
